


Émigré

by fuurin (uzumaki_rakku)



Series: Fragments of Legends [1]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Child Soldiers, Gen, Kayn your attempts at chatting up pretty ladies are absolutely horrendous, Rhaast is judging him so hard, Trauma, War, might be shippy if you squint really hard, takes place after Confessions of a Broken Blade, two former Noxians have a "nice" little chat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 00:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14437731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uzumaki_rakku/pseuds/fuurin
Summary: Wanted to write some Kayn and Riven interactions since they have rather similar pasts. Takes place sometime after Kayn acquires Rhaast, and after the events ofConfessions of a Broken Blade.“Well then, Riven, former soldier of Noxus, what is your…” he paused and grimaced, as though trying to remember the word he wanted to use. “…busi-ness, here in Ionia?”





	Émigré

“So, what’s a Noxian soldier doing alone in Ionia?”

The voice was young and sharp, bearing an adolescent arrogance that reminded Riven of her younger days. It was not the tone of voice which set her on edge, however, but the language it had spoken in.

Ur-Noxian.

Her hand instinctively went to her side, before she realised that had left her sword back in the Kontes’ house. She turned, slowly, to face the person who had interrupted her on her evening walk.

“I am no longer of Noxus, nor am I its soldier.” she replied in the same language.

“Oh?” the speaker said, stepping out from the shadow of a tree. “What a coincidence.”

The stranger was neither a boy or a man but somewhere in between, lightly dressed. His left arm and shoulder appeared inhuman, the flesh being a dark red where it was not encased in something that resembled armour. His left eye glowed an unsettling crimson and appeared similarly corrupted, the skin around it covered by the same unknown dark substance as his arm. In his left hand he held a red-and-black scythe as long as he was tall, upon which a single, half-opened scarlet eye glowed ominously as it observed its surroundings.

Riven regarded him in silence for several long moments. “Who are you?” she finally asked, when he did not continue to speak.

“It’s rather bad manners to ask for someone’s name without giving your own,” the stranger challenged.

“It’s also bad manners to sneak up on someone who was minding her own business,” Riven replied stiffly.

“Shieda Kayn,” the stranger said, with a light but noticeable emphasis on the first part of his name.

A hybrid of a name, half Ionian and half Noxian, following the Ionian convention of placing the surname before the given name. A story told in two words.

“Riven,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow but did not comment on the lack of family name. It was common enough amongst the numerous orphans of Noxus.

“Well then, Riven, former soldier of Noxus, what is your…” he paused and grimaced, as though trying to remember the word he wanted to use. “…busi-ness, here in Ionia?”

“Penance,” she said simply, switching to the Ionian common tongue. Then, her curiosity piqued in spite of herself, she asked him the same question in return.

“Kicked out by my master,” Kayn replied, also changing languages. He spoke almost casually, with a faint but noticeable accent which showed he did not belong to that region. “But once I’ve proven myself, I shall return.”

“You’re…” Riven paused, puzzled. “What are you, exactly?”

“What, never met a ninja before?” Kayn seemed amused by her confusion. “Well, I’m not surprised by that. You’d hardly be alive if you have, since Master Zed would've killed you where you stood.”

Those words were spoken with a proud yet unboastful air. Riven remembered the stories she’d heard about the ninjas, about the Eye of Twilight, and did not disbelieve him.

“What do you want?” she asked tersely, wary of the youth who had spoken the Noxian tongue like he had begun to forget it.

“To satisfy my curiosity,” Kayn replied with a brief, sardonic grin. “The sight of someone like you brings back memories I thought I had thrown away. Our pasts, I think, are not very different.”

“You’re not old enough to have fought in the Noxian invasion,” Riven said.

“Oh, am I?” Kayn laughed, loud and harsh, odd-coloured eyes flashing with an old, unforgotten pain.

Riven was silent.

“Noxus threw us away to die like trash,” Kayn spat out, the eye on his weapon glowing brighter as his grip tightened around it. He drew in a breath, and visibly composed himself.

“But that’s in the past,” his smile was cold when he next spoke, wisps of shadow curling at the fingertips of his free hand. “That child is gone – only the killer remains.”

“Are you here to kill me?” Riven asked abruptly. If the thing was to be done, she thought, it might as well be done quickly. She could not match him for power without her own blade, but took comfort in knowing that he was unlikely to harm Asa and Shava Konte after she was dead.

“Why should I?” Kayn countered. “I’ve nothing to gain from your death. It has no place within my plans.”

Thrown by the turn of events, Riven looked at him in growing irritation and wished fervently that he would go away.

“A duel would be an interesting challenge, I think,” he continued, either oblivious to her consternation or determined to ignore it. “But you’re probably a dull blade if the council let you live.”

 _“What do you want,”_ Riven snapped, hands balled into fists as she finally lost her patience.

Kayn’s answering grin held both malice and triumph. He had succeeded in provoking some of the old fire out of her.

“I’ve told you my story, more or less,” he said, seating himself cross-legged on the ground with the scythe laid across his knees. “Why don’t you tell me yours?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kayn's attempts at chatting up pretty, mysterious ladies are very, very bad. If that was his intention at all. Who knows?
> 
> I've no idea what happens to Kayn after he grabs Rhaast and goes back, so in this fic Zed kicked him out for the time being because he disobeyed orders. Kayn's convinced that if he defeats Rhaast, Zed will acknowledge him and hand over leadership - keep dreaming, buddy, don't let your dreams be memes. :^)


End file.
